PennDOT demands $3 million refund from Luzerne County Transportation Authority

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is demanding a $3.15 million refund from the Luzerne County Transportation Authority in the wake of the “ghost rider” scandal, according to a letter made public Thursday.

Those ridership numbers are used to determine state funding levels for operating assistance and capital improvement programs, says the letter, signed by Deputy Secretary Toby L. Fauver.

Numbers submitted with the letter show the LCTA reported 511,026 seniors on a fixed route in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, but the revised data shows only 195,266 seniors for the same period.

By fiscal years 2010-2011, LCTA was reporting 789,091 seniors on fixed routes, which was adjusted to 194,520, the report says.

As a result of the adjusted ridership numbers, PennDOT calculated an overpayment in state funds of $2.1 million in operating expenses and $479,655 in capital improvement program funding, Fauver wrote.

The department assessed the LCTA with a 25 percent fine on the $2.1 million, resulting in a total balance due of $2.68 million for operating assistance, the letter says.

That amount will be collected by PennDOT withholding $2.5 million in state funding to LCTA through June, with the remaining $155,859 deducted from the payment in July, according to the letter.

The letters says payments to Martz and the city of Hazleton, which are channeled through the LCTA, will not be affected.

Fauver wrote that the LCTA has a balance of $553,209 for capital improvements, and that amount will be “administratively reduced” by the $479,655 in overpayment, leaving a balance of $73,554.

The “ghost rider” scandal surfaced in July 2012, when authority board member Patrick Conway alleged bus drivers were encouraged to inflate the number of senior citizens on buses to maintain and boost state funding allocations.

The authority has denied those allegations, although Strelish admitted last May that drivers had been miscounting senior riders — in some cases doubling and triple counting.

Strelish could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

The state Attorney General’s Office has requested documents from the authority in connection with the issue, and five LCTA employees testified before a grand jury in Harrisburg last month.

The ridership issue has also surfaced in discussions about the county’s 2014 budget. County council vice chairman Edd Brominski is proposing to reduce LCTA funding proportionally to the sharp drop in ridership the authority experienced.

That budget amendment is still pending.

jhalpin@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2058; @cvjimhalpin

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